anding ethnic and religious
tensions, if it is to build a sound foundation for economic growth
and political stability.

Nigeria Geography

Location: Western Africa, bordering the Gulf of Guinea, between
Benin and Cameroon

Geographic coordinates: 10 00 N, 8 00 E

Map references: Africa

Area: total: 923,768 sq km

land: 910,768 sq km

water: 13,000 sq km

Area - comparative: slightly more than twice the size of California

Land boundaries: total: 4,047 km

border countries: Benin 773 km, Cameroon 1,690 km, Chad 87 km,
Niger 1,497 km

Coastline: 853 km

Maritime claims: continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of
exploitation

exclusive economic zone: 200 NM

territorial sea: 12 NM

Climate: varies; equatorial in south, tropical in center, arid in
north

Terrain: southern lowlands merge into central hills and plateaus;
mountains in southeast, plains in north

Elevation extremes: lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m

highest point: Chappal Waddi 2,419 m

Natural resources: natural gas, petroleum, tin, columbite, iron ore,
coal, limestone, lead, zinc, arable land

Land use: arable land: 33%

permanent crops: 3%

permanent pastures: 44%

forests and woodland: 12%

other: 8% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 9,570 sq km (1993 est.)

Natural hazards: periodic droughts

Environment - current issues: soil degradation; rapid deforestation;
desertification

Environment - international agreements: party to: Biodiversity,
Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous
Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation,
Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Nigeria People

Population: 126,635,626

note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the
effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower
life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower
population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of
population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July
2001 est.)

Age structure: 0-14 years: 43.71% (male 27,842,225; female
27,514,197)

15-64 years: 53.47% (male 34,456,738; female 33,259,194)

65 years and over: 2.82% (male 1,780,862; female 1,782,410) (2001
est.)

Population growth rate: 2.61% (2001 est.)

Birth rate: 39.69 births/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Death rate: 13.91 d